The Beast Within
by xlirealx
Summary: On a regular, boring day, Tyson meets a cute girl. She is shy and a bit awkward. Dragoon glows blue...as do many other beyblades around town. Is it a fluke? Kenny has no explanation. Could the source be dangerous? What IS the source?
1. Prologue

**The Beast Within**

_**Prologue**_

Tyson sighed to himself as he walked slowly down the busy street. He had spent the whole morning at the BBA Headquarters, defeating one amateur challenger after another. It had been fun for a while, but after 4 hours of easy victories he felt ready to pass out from boredom.

"Some of them weren't bad," he mumbled to himself, "A few actually had a lot of potential, but I want a _real_ challenge, a match that takes more than just a few attacks to win. At the very least," he thought out loud, "I want something interesting to happen. This boring routine stuff is killing me!"

He toyed with the idea of tracking Kai down, but discarded it quickly. Kai was nearly impossible to find at the best of times and _always_ impossible to find if he was in one of his _I-don't-need-friends-so-stay-the-hell-away-from-me_ moods. Tyson grumbled softly under his breath. Why did Kai always have to be so goddamn stubborn?!

After buying an ice cream and trudging into the park, Tyson flopped on a bench and stared aimlessly into space, licking his ice cream since he couldn't think of anything better to do. _My nose itches,_ he thought absentmindedly. He didn't notice someone approaching behind him. _I wonder how long I can go without scratching it..._

A sudden tap on his shoulder made him jump, startled out of his stupor. He turned to face the person behind him, wondering what on earth they could possibly want.

A girl stood behind him. She had long brown hair that sparkled in the sun, and was dressed plainly in a thin brown hoodie and a pair of blue jeans. Her long bangs were pinned back to keep them out of her eyes, but a few shorter tendrils had managed to escape and fell across part of her forehead. Tyson was pretty sure she was around 17 or 18...about a year or two younger than himself and his friends. The girl gave him a shy smile, her blue-gray eyes gleaming playfully.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully, moving in front of the bench to speak to him properly, "Are you Tyson from the G-Revolutions?" She was bouncing slightly, as though she was full of limitless energy.

"Uh...yeah..." he replied, staring at her with curiosity. "Um...why are you bouncing like that?"

"Hmm? Oh..." she waved her hand, indicating two girls standing behind a tree on the other side of the street. "My friends thought it would be smart to give me three cans of pop...in a row. They said I would have more confidence if I was wired." She leaned forward until their noses were almost touching. "Are they right?" she asked him, bouncing less.

"Um..." Tyson rubbed the back of his head and laughed, "I don't know. I guess so...unless you're usually this energetic." He stopped laughing and looked at the girl with concern. She had almost completely stopped bouncing and seemed unable to look him in the eyes anymore. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she sighed, shaking her head and standing up properly, "The sugar is just wearing off too quickly. Useless stuff." Her cheeks started to blush a faint pink colour. "Look, I better get going. Sorry I bothered you..." she backed away slowly and began turning towards her friends.

"Wait a minute," Tyson said quickly, "What's your name? And what did you want to talk to me about?" He knew she must have wanted to talk about _something_. Why else would she need extra confidence?

The girl paused and looked back at Tyson, silently holding his gaze for a brief moment. "My name is Faye." She gave him another shy smile. "Maybe I'll talk to you later?" He watched as she ran across the street to her friends. They greeted her excitedly, talking and giggling non-stop. Faye flushed bright red and leaned against one of the girls, a girl with purple hair, as though she were exhausted.

Tyson shook his head, grinning and feeling amazed at how confusing girls could be. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a blue glow coming from his pocket. He reached into the pocket and pulled out Dragoon. "What...?" he gasped. The bit-beast chip on his blade was shining with bright blue light. _Is it reacting to something?_ he wondered. _What's wrong, Dragoon?_


	2. Chapter 1

**The Beast Within**

**_Chapter 1_**

"So? How did it go?" a girl with long black hair asked Faye, her eyes aflame with anticipation. "Come on, tell us!"

"Yeah," chimed in the other girl, the one with purple hair, "We deserve to know! Besides, you promised. We gave you the necessary sugar-overload so now you've _got_ to tell us what happened!" She folded her arms across her chest, glaring at Faye threateningly with her piercing green eyes.

Faye sighed as though exhausted, subconsciously combing her fingers through her hair. "Not much happened, Luna," she said to the purple-haired girl. "I found out he _is_ Tyson, he asked me why I was bouncing like a frickin kangaroo, and my sugar boost wore off WAY too fast. He probably thinks I'm a complete lunatic." An amused grin stretched across her face. "Which I am...sometimes."

"Yep, you are," agreed the raven-haired girl. "So did he at least ask for your name?"

"Yeah, but-"

"There you go! Even if he thinks you're a little crazy, he's still interested in you!" Her voice grew steadily louder as her enthusiasm rose. "After all, if he wasn't interested he'd have been trying to escape as soon as he could. But he stopped you! We saw it!! So there!" She laughed, feeling gloriously triumphant.

"God, Tess!!" Faye exclaimed, hiding her face behind her hands. "Way to make me go even redder! Do you enjoy making me feel embarrassed?" She lowered her hands, laughing at herself. "Why the hell do I have to be so damn _shy_? It's unfair, that's what it is."

Luna swept her hair out of her eyes, giggling excitedly. "Awww, you guys look so _cute_ together!" She hugged Faye tightly, jumping up and down. "I can tell you're happy, even if you won't admit it. The eyes never lie." she winked. "I am the best matchmaker _ever_!!"

Faye turned even redder and was forced to hide behind her hair. "LUNA!" she protested, peeking out from behind her protective curtain, "Stop it already! He'd never feel that way anyway." She flipped her hair back out of her face and sighed with disappointment. "I really wanted to ask him for a battle, too. He'd probably be _such_ a fun opponent. God, I hate being so shy all the time. It's _pathetic_!"

Tess waved her hand dismissively, ignoring Faye's complaint. "You'll get another chance, don't worry. Hey! You know what would be a great idea? _Coffee_! Let's go!" She began dragging Faye and Luna down the street, intently searching for the nearest coffee shop. "I need my espresso spoons!"

"Noooo!!" yelled Luna, trying to pull away, "No coffee for you! Help me, Faye! We've got to stop her!" She pulled Tess's arm in a futile attempt to at least slow her down.

The commotion was ignored as Faye followed her friends like a zombie. Her sugar-crash was definitely showing now as she dragged her feet on the pavement. "Mmmmm...coffee..." she mumbled, "Need...caffeine...sugar not...enough..." Allowing herself to be steered through a shop door, she perked up at the invigorating smell of fresh coffee.

"Stick with hot chocolate," Luna advised, "You won't crash on that stuff."

"True."

Luna sat down at one of the small tables, an annoyed scowl advertising her irritation at losing her little battle with Tess. "You're addicted, you know," she glared at the hyper girl. "It's not healthy." Turning her head slightly, she shifted her glare to the man behind the counter as Faye joined her at the table. "As if she's not insane enough, _you've_ got to let her fuel up on pure caffeine!!" Luna aimed a swift kick at the table leg in an effort to vent her frustration. It didn't work. "Ow."

The man behind the counter looked over at her with confusion and a little concern as he gave Tess her order.

"Woohoo!! Coffee time!!" Tess cheered as she bounced over to the table, carrying four large cups. "Here guys!" She handed Luna and Faye their cups, both hot chocolate, and set the remaining pair of cups in front of her before opening a small package.

"I don't understand how you can drink that stuff," Luna wrinkled her nose in disapproval, "It's disgusting."

"It's not _that_ bad, Luna," Faye argued, waiting for her hot chocolate to cool. "Tess just likes it more than she should, that's all."

Tess now held one cup in each hand and was happily sucking on an espresso spoon at the same time.

Luna rolled her eyes, slamming her forehead on the table. "Unbelievable," she muttered before sitting up and drinking some of her hot chocolate.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Tyson was experiencing a mild case of emotional turmoil. He couldn't decide whether to be curious, worried, concerned, or surprised...so he was stuck feeling everything at once. Things had become very strange since that girl had left him in the park. Dragoon had stopped glowing a while ago, but the reason it had glowed in the first place was still a complete mystery. He sat down on his front step, absently mulling over possible explanations.

"Yo, _dude_!!" The front door burst open loudly, making Tyson jump in shock. "Where ya bin, homey?! Avoidin' yer chores again?" his Grandpa laughed obnoxiously, "Man, I thought I'd hafta entertain yer pals all _day_!" He smacked Tyson sharply on the head with the stick he never seemed to put down.

"OW!" Tyson winced, rubbing the sore spot where a large bump was rising beneath the skin. "Can't you act like a normal Grandpa for once?" He dodged another swing.

"Yer slowin' down, homey! Gotta sharpen those reflexes with _more trainin'_!!"

"Aahh!" Tyson dashed quickly into the house, searching for sanctuary from the crazy old man. He turned into the living room...and tripped over a tiny person with glasses, landing chin-first on the floor. "Ugh," he groaned, "What...?" He turned his head to see what exactly he'd run over. A small boy with messy brown hair that covered his eyes and large glasses perched on top of his head was picking himself up off the floor.

"Chief? What happened to y-" he felt a strong grip on his arm as someone dragged him back to his feet.

"_You_ happened, you clutz!" laughed the person helping him up, a guy with golden eyes and long, inky black hair that was tied back in a long braid. A delicate set of fangs curved slightly over his bottom lip.

"Oh, hi Rei. What are you guys doing here?"

Rei shared a quick glance with Kenny before answering. "Drigger started glowing with this weird blue light a while ago. I went to ask Kenny about it, but he wasn't sure what was happening either so now we're trying to find out if it was an isolated incident or not. Have you noticed anything weird happening with Dragoon?"

Tyson's eyes widened. "It happened to you, too?" He fished Dragoon out of his pocket and handed it to Kenny for inspection. "Dragoon stopped glowing about an hour ago."

Kenny snatched the beyblade from Tyson's outstretched hand, excitement sparking in his eyes. Too bad no one could see his eyes. "Interesting," he muttered to himself, examining every inch of the beyblade. When he couldn't find anything amiss on the outside, he disassembled the beyblade and inspected each piece with care. Satisfied with his analysis, he heaved a disappointed sigh and returned Dragoon to Tyson after putting it back together. "I can't find anything out of the ordinary with it. Rei's was fine, too. I can only conclude that whatever has been happening doesn't involve any kind of malfunction with the blades themselves."

"Do you have any theories?" Rei asked.

"Some," replied Kenny, "But none that can be confirmed. I can't find any solid evidence so nothing can be proven one way or the other."

"So how are we supposed to _get_ the evidence?" Tyson grumbled, throwing his hands up in frustration. "We can't make any progress without a lead of _some_ kind." He walked out of the room, still grumbling.

"Where are you going?" Kenny asked.

"Kitchen. I'm hungry." Tyson answered from down the hall.

Rei and Kenny looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Figures," Rei snickered.


	3. Chapter 2

**The Beast Within**

_**Chapter 2**_

A week after Tyson's meeting with Rei and Kenny, the three friends were still no closer to solving the little mystery that the glowing blue light had presented. No new incidents had occurred with Dragoon or Drigger, so Tyson had decided to forget about it for the time being. He'd worry about it when the situation became more serious, if it ever did. So far, it appeared that the incident was probably just some sort of fluke.

Tyson walked out of a candy store, opening a fresh box of pocky and grinning in anticipation. As he glanced down the sidewalk absentmindedly, he noticed the girl from the week before. She was walking in the opposite direction, occasionally stopping to examine a window display or poster. She hadn't noticed him and was steadily moving farther away.

"Hey!" he called out, quickly searching his memory for her name. "Hey, Faye! Wait up!" He hurried to catch up to her, doing his best not to spill his pocky all over the sidewalk in the process. She turned around, curious to see who was calling her. Upon seeing Tyson, she blushed intensely and quickly turned away, hoping he hadn't noticed.

Tyson slowed to a walking pace as he approached her. A curtain of hair hid her face from view. _Is she ok?_ he wondered, tucking some of Faye's hair behind her ear so he could see her properly. She was staring at her shoes, her cheeks still a faint pink colour.

"Hi," he addressed her again, "Why so quiet today?"

"...Hi, Tyson..." Faye replied softly, her gaze still locked on her shoes. She was so quiet, Tyson almost missed her reply; her voice was just above a whisper.

"Going somewhere?"

She gave him a quick nod. "I'm meeting my friends. We're getting lunch at the mall." Her voice rose a little in volume, becoming more confident.

"Oh," said Tyson. He popped a stick of pocky into his mouth and then offered the box to Faye. "Want one?"

Faye glanced at the box. Then at Tyson. Without warning, she started giggling, unable to remain tense. "Sure," she replied, pulling a stick of pocky out of the box. Tyson noticed her glance at him again as they munched their pocky, but she quickly looked away to hide another blush. "Thank you," she murmured. He flashed her a smile in response.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

A shadowy figure watched the pair below it closely from the branches of a large tree. It followed them stealthily, leaping between trees and low rooftops along the street. The shadow was swift and silent, making it practically invisible.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"You're late, Faye!" Luna exclaimed in mock anger, sitting alone at one of the tables in the food court. "We've been waiting for fifteen _very_ long and hungry minutes!" She glanced past Faye, noticing Tyson munching on some pocky. "Why does _he_ get food?!"

"Well maybe – and this is just a crazy suspicion – but _maybe_ he _paid_ for it?" Tess interjected, approaching the table with a large plate of fries.

"Fries!" cried Luna, her eyes lighting up with excitement. She tried to steal a few of them but Tess swatted at her hand and shielded the plate protectively.

"Not for you. Go buy your own."

Tyson laughed quietly at their weird banter. Luna heard him anyway. She whipped around and glared at him fiercely.

"What's so funny, Mr. Champion?" she demanded in a sarcastic tone, "You think you're _so_ great, don't you? Just because you have a few titles and _food_!" She turned away and marched stormily across the food court in search of fries. Tyson looked at Faye for an explanation, feeling extremely confused.

"What did I do?"

Faye was trying too hard to stop laughing to be able to answer him. She was doubled over with suppressed giggles.

"You didn't do anything," Tess answered, "...well...unless you count being Beyblade Champion several times in a row _and_ having food around when she's hungry."

"That makes no sense!"

"Sure it does. You know Kai Hiwatari, right?"

Tyson wasn't catching on. "Of course. He's one of my best friends. Not to mention my favourite opponent." His eyes gleamed competitively.

"And you always beat him." Tess pointed out.

"Yeah. So what?"

"Luna hates you for it." Faye explained, having finally controlled her laughter. "Well...actually, she doesn't hate _you_. Not really. She just hates that you always beat _Kai_."

No clarity dawned on Tyson's face. He looked just as confused as ever. Faye and Tess sighed in exasperation.

"Oh well, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." Tess gave him a sympathetic smile.

Tyson shrugged, deciding it probably wasn't important. "If you say so," he laughed. _Wow, this girl has __**weird**__ friends_. He laughed again, realizing that he did, too.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The shadowed figure stood out of sight, listening closely to the conversation and growing frustrated at the lack of information it was providing. It closed its eyes, thinking over the recent events that had come to its attention. Why had its beyblade glowed blue the week before? Surely Tyson must have found some clues! But so far, the shadow had not been fortunate enough to find an answer.

It opened its eyes and did a quick scan of the food court, lost in its jumbled, frustrated thoughts. Its violet eyes lingered on the moody girl with equally violet hair as she returned to her friends, a plate of fries in one hand and a bottle of pop in the other. She looked much happier now than she had when she'd stormed off.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Faye's head snapped up, seeking the source of the delicious smell that had wafted past. Her eyes sparkled as she bounced in her seat. "Luna, my love!"

"What?" Luna asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously and giving Faye a mock-menacing glare.

Faye stared up at her friend, looking as innocent and cute as she possibly could. She even used her nicest begging voice. "Share?"

Luna rolled her eyes, trying to ignore Faye's persistent staring. "It won't work, Faye. It _won't_."

Faye could tell she was already beginning to weaken. "Just one?" she asked, pouting a little.

Luna did her best to keep scowling. "No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Just one, Luna?"

"..."

Luna was trying _so_ hard not to laugh. "No..." a smile began creeping through her scowl. She had to look away to regain her composure.

"But...fries..." Faye refused to give up.

Luna reached her limit and burst out laughing. "Ok, but just _one_."

"Yay!" Faye cheered, "Thank you, Luna! You're my love!" She snatched a fry from the plate, looking as happy as if she'd just aced a math test.

Tyson laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Have you no shame?" he joked.

Faye blushed, lowering her eyes quickly and focusing all her attention on the table in front of her. She remained silent, refusing to look up. Her hair was shielding her face again, so Tyson wasn't able to see her expression.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked. "Did I hurt your feelings or something?"

Faye said nothing in response. Her thoughts raged back and forth, arguing with each other. _Oh god, how could I act so stupid in front of him? It's okay, Faye, you're just being yourself. If he doesn't like it, that's __**his**__ problem. People should like you for who you are. Yeah right! Who the hell actually believes __**that**__?! Desperate people, that's who. They do not! Yes they do! Damn it! He probably thinks I'm the biggest loser he's ever met! Why why why did I have to go and act like that? He'll never take me seriously. No shit, Sherlock. Shut up! Oh god, I'm such an idiot_-

An arm wrapped comfortingly around her shoulders, abruptly cutting off her mental flailing.

"What's wrong?" Tyson asked with concern.

She stared at him in amazement. _Unbelieveable. Doesn't he think I'm a freak? Most people don't even bother trying to understand me_. A dark thought slowly crept through her mind, trying to push back her moment of happiness. _That doesn't necessarily mean anything. I bet he'd behave differently if he knew about..._

Faye stubbornly ignored the thought, determined to hold on to her temporary bliss. She gave Tyson a reassuring smile. "It's nothing important. Don't worry about it."

Luna and Tess glanced at each other knowingly before _tactfully_ changing the subject.

"So you guys seriously look super cute together!" Tess exclaimed, grinning.

"She's right," Luna agreed, slamming her palm on the table. "_God_ I'm good! I knew you were perfect for each other!" She beamed proudly.

Faye glared at her friends.


	4. Chapter 3

**The Beast Within**

_**Chapter 3**_

Tyson and Faye walked down the street together, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Even so, Tyson couldn't help noticing that Faye was a little on edge, like she was purposely trying not to have too much fun. He couldn't even begin to understand why.

"I'm really sorry about my friends," Faye apologized suddenly. "They can be really weird sometimes but they're actually really nice and I'm sorry if they kind of creeped you out." She blushed, still feeling a little embarrassed by the whole food court episode.

Tyson blinked in surprise. "They didn't creep me out. I mean, sure, they were weird but I thought they were really funny! And _trust me_," he added firmly, "You don't even know what weird is until you've met my Grandpa."

He reflexively rubbed the back of his head and laughed, remembering his last painful encounter with the insane old man. _He hits pretty hard for such an old geezer. Too bad I'm the only one he bothers torturing._

Faye's face lit up as she smiled. "He sounds interesting. I think I'd like to meet him someday."

"No you wouldn't."

They laughed together as Tyson told Faye more about his over-zealous grandfather and all the head injuries he'd inflicted on his grandson over the years.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Luna sighed, leaning against a park bench. After lunch at the food court, the three girls had decided to split up for the afternoon. She and Tess had both agreed that Faye was entitled to some alone time with Tyson, but after the pair had left, she and Tess couldn't decide what to do with _their_ free time. In the end, they had split up, too.

Luna listened absentmindedly to the multiple crashes as beyblades collided with each other in the practice dishes scattered throughout the park. She gave the beybladers a quick visual assessment, sizing them up. They were mostly amateurs, unfortunately. _Why is it so hard to find decent competition these days? Isn't the sport supposed to be growing in popularity?_ She tried to stifle a yawn as she stretched, gazing at the various beybladers with indifference. _Ugh, how boring_, she thought to herself with frustration, raising her arms over her head to complete the stretch.

"What a waste of time," she muttered under her breath, lowering her arms.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The shadow perched quietly in a tree, gazing down at the purple-haired girl while organizing its thoughts. This girl didn't seem to be _directly_ involved with the cause of the blue light, but there was no guarantee she was _uninvolved_ either. The shadow had noticed the suspicious look passed between this purple-haired girl and her raven-haired friend in the food court. Was it completely unrelated?

Another factor had also influenced the shadow's suspicion – a few moments ago, its beyblade had briefly glowed blue again. So had this girl's. However, instead of looking confused about the abnormal occurrence, she had simply glanced at her beyblade in a guarded way and shoved it into her bag, hiding it from view. _Even if she's not directly involved, she still seems to know something_, the shadow reasoned to itself.

It decided to make its presence known. Stealthily, it leaped to the ground with no more noise than a breath of wind rustling the leaves.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Luna turned to pick up her bag, intending to search the entire park for an opponent if necessary. She had taken a few steps before she froze completely, unable to believe what she was seeing.

A _very_ good looking guy was standing in front of her, leaning against the trunk of a tree. _Where the hell did he come from?_ He was dressed all in black; a tight black shirt, black jeans, and a long black coat with red trim. His beautiful silver hair shifted slightly as a breeze caressed it. Determination flared deep within his violet eyes as he stared her down. Luna stared back, unblinking, until she felt her eyes beginning to water. Grudgingly, she mentally admitted defeat and allowed her eyes to close, instantly relieving the burning sensation.

"You lose," the guy smirked, blinking as well.

"Duh," Luna rolled her eyes sarcastically, smirking back at him. "Good call, genius."

"I have some questions for you. And I expect answers."

"You know, normally people introduce themselves, Kai." Luna teased, smirking more.

"Why bother? You obviously recognize me already," he shrugged apathetically.

"...what's your point?"

Kai rolled his eyes and stepped closer. "Fine. I'm Kai Hiwatari." There was a long pause. "Your turn," he prompted.

"Oh...right! I'm Luna," she replied quickly, snapping out of a daze. _Stop staring at him, idiot!_

"So now that the introductions are over, I expect some answers."

"Depends on the questions." Luna playfully stuck her tongue out, mentally cringing. _Aw, hell._

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Tess slammed open the coffee shop door, tossing her long, black hair in agitation. "Coffee! Now!" she demanded, grabbing the collar of the guy behind the counter.

He sighed, calmly loosening her fingers and freeing himself from her grip. "Honestly Tess, don't you even say hello anymore? You're lucky you're a regular or I'd call the cops on you."

"Don't start, Dan. You know my routine. I need my coffee! I haven't had any since this morning!" She gripped the edge of the counter tightly.

Dan smiled, shaking his head. "You should really think about cutting back," he advised, filling her cup. "How long have you and your friends been here, anyway?"

"We moved here..." she did a quick mental calculation. "Just about 3 weeks ago."

"Has it really been that long?" Dan wondered out loud. "It seems shorter than that to me...but that's probably your fault," he laughed, "You're here _every day_. The weeks have all kind of blurred together. Here," he handed Tess her cup, "Espresso."

Tess snatched the cup and took a gulp, promptly burning her tongue. "Ow!" She stuck her tongue out for a moment, blowing on it in an attempt to sooth the pain away. She turned away with a grin. "Thanks, Dan!" Dan shook his head as she left the shop, singing to herself as she went. "Dan, Dan, the coffee man!"

Tess took the lid off her cup to help the coffee cool faster, then took a _long_ drink. "Ah, sweet coffee," she sighed happily, "What would I do without you?"

She headed in the direction of the park. She was sure Luna would be there, most likely near a beyblade dish. Luna _was_ pretty competitive, after all. Tess felt herself already calming down, now that she had her precious drink. She hummed her magnificent "Coffee Man" song as she walked, and in no time she was navigating around the numerous practices dishes throughout the park. Every now and then she would pause to watch a match in progress, but moved on quickly since the beybladers were mostly inexperienced kids. _A challenging opponent would be nice for a change...well, one OTHER than Luna or Faye. They're fun opponents but I battle them all the time!_ One beydish in particular attracted her attention as she made her way through the park. Rei, Max, and Kenny from the G-Revolutions were standing beside the dish, offering pointers and strategical advice to the younger beybladers. Tess moved closer to the group, curious. Rei glanced up as she passed, his gold eyes meeting her green ones. She gave him a sly smile.

"Hyuu hyuu, sexy," she winked before walking away.

Rei blinked, speechless. _That's the weirdest thing anyone's ever said to me._ He laughed quietly, turning his attention back on the beydish.

"Huh? Did you say something, Rei?" asked Max.

Rei shook his head. "No."

Tess continued walking until she was out of ear-shot, then ducked behind a large tree and burst into a giggle fit. "Wow," she exclaimed with glee, "He's even more gorgeous in person! Oooooh, those eyes!" She fought to gain control over her giggle fit, finally suppressing it enough to take a few gulps of air. "I've _got _to tell Luna about this. Where the hell _is_ she?" Throwing her now-empty coffee cup in the trash, she began humming "5 Colours in her Hair" and resumed her search.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Kai and Luna were seated comfortably in the branches of a tall tree. The mass of leaves surrounding them shielded them completely from view, giving them some privacy. Kai had already asked his questions and was currently listening to Luna's murmured response. A frown steadily deepened on Kai's face as he heard the explanation. _I knew something was wrong but this is just...I don't even know what to call it._

Luna sat quietly, patiently waiting for Kai's judgment. She felt horrible about telling him anything – she _had_ been sworn to secrecy, after all – but she just couldn't help it! She had a nagging feeling that maybe..._maybe_... he could help find a way to fix the problem. Something about him made her want to tell the truth, even if she _did_ have to break a promise. He seemed like someone she could trust. She couldn't even explain why!

"Alright," Kai stood up on his branch, easily maintaining his balance. "We obviously need to tell Kenny. If anyone can make sense of this and find a reasonable solution, he can. You'll have to tell him _everything_ you know. After that, I'm sure he can-"

"No," Luna interrupted hastily, "I can't tell him that! It's bad enough I broke my promise by telling _you_. Please don't make me do it again!" she pleaded, guilt saturating her voice. Kai remained silent. "Besides," Luna continued, "I don't know the whole story. I only know the parts she was willing to talk about. And _you_," she pointed out, "should know more about keeping secrets from people than _anyone_."

Kai shot her a challenging glare.

Luna sighed, leaning against the solid tree trunk. "If you really want to find out anything, you'll have to talk to her personally. I hate talking about her behind her back like this."

Kai held back a sigh. He could tell from her tone that he wouldn't be able to change her mind. She was too loyal for that; it was a trait he found himself admiring.

"Fine. Whatever," he said, "but I think Kenny should know as soon as possible. If it's as bad as you think, then we can't waste any time with this. And I'm sure my teammates would appreciate some answers as well."

"That might be true," Luna agreed, "but it won't be _me_ telling them. I don't even know what possessed me to tell _you_. It's like you have interrogation super powers or something."

Kai smirked. "It's a gift."

"Oh, shut up," Luna retorted with a smile, "Anyway, it would probably be easiest for you to talk to her at our apartment. It's less public, so you might be able to get her to open up there." She fished a piece of paper and a pen out of her bag, quickly scribbling the address. "Here," she handed Kai the note, "Come over around one o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Bring Kenny if you really think it's necessary but don't bring _anyone_ else, ok? She hates being the center of attention and being in front of a large group will only make it worse. She'd panic for sure. We'd be lucky to get more than three words out of her then."

Kai examined the note briefly. "Thanks," he replied, his lips twitching into a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"No problem..."Luna hesitated. "So...I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then. Bye." She leaped gracefully from her branch, landing in a perfectly balanced crouch. "Don't be late!" she grinned up at Kai before walking away, leaving him alone in the dense leaves.

He looked again at the piece of paper in his hand. "So," he mused, "The answer was this close all along?"

The girls' apartment was only two floors below his own.


	5. Chapter 4

**The Beast Within**

_**Chapter 4**_

"Come on, Faye! Give me some help here!" Luna shouted from the kitchen, searching the cupboards for some chips or pop or _something_ for their guests. "They'll be here soon!"

"No way. Find the stuff yourself," Faye grumbled from the living room. She flopped on the couch and closed her eyes, scowling with annoyance. "They're _your_ guests so _you_ can entertain them." She could feel herself becoming angrier by the second – it bubbled up until she felt like her head would explode if she didn't release it. Bad sign. She winced as she tried to calm herself.

"But Faye – Tess, for God's sake _put the coffee down_! You've had enough for the whole day already!" Luna yelled in frustration, chasing Tess around the kitchen. Faye opened her eyes a crack just in time to see Tess dart into the living room, clutching an empty coffee pot.

"But I've only finished one pot this morning!" Tess shouted defensively, brandishing the empty pot as evidence. "See? I haven't had very much!"

"Please shut up." Faye said in a strained voice. It fell on deaf ears.

"Not very much? Are you kidding me?"

"No, it's not very much! It's just _one pot_–"

"_**I said shut up!**_" Faye screamed furiously.

Tess and Luna cut off mid-argument, stunned into silence. Faye hardly ever raised her voice in anger and she'd _never_ yelled at them like that before. Tess glanced quickly at Luna and set the coffee pot down, nervously taking a few steps toward the couch.

"I'm sure Luna wouldn't have said anything if she wasn't sure Kai could help you, Faye..." she said quietly.

Faye stared at the floor, trying to focus on her breathing, the sounds of passing traffic outside, _anything_ that might distract her from the fury building inside her.

"I'm sorry, alright?" Luna sighed. "I know I'll never be able to say it enough times but I really _am_ sorry. I should have asked you first. Please forgive me?"

Faye whipped her head up and glared at her friends, sparks dancing threateningly in her eyes. "Why?" she demanded, "You and Tess swore it would _never_ be mentioned again, not even between us! And _you_–" she pointed at Tess, who cringed a bit under her fierce gaze, "_You_ should have talked her out of it the second she told you about it in the park! I trusted you!" Unshed tears brimmed in her eyes as she tried to fight back the steadily building anger. "How could you go behind my back like this? Arrange some meeting with people who should just mind their own business? They won't understand! What makes you think they'd be any different from every other person who's found out?"

"But what if they _can_ help?" Luna asked, taking a proactive step back.

"Why _would_ they? Luna, I _like_ it here!" Faye cried, leaping to her feet, "_I don't want to be forced out of another home!!_"

"But–"

"_NO!! _I'll deal with it on my own!"

A faint tapping noise was heard as someone knocked tentatively on the front door.

"_GO AWAY!!_" Faye shrieked, storming quickly out of the living room. A door slammed violently in the hallway a few seconds later.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Kenny hurriedly backed away from the door, hiding behind Kai. He had no idea why he was here and found himself wondering, not for the first time, why the hell he _ever_ did what Kai asked without demanding a decent explanation first. In this case, all Kai had told him was that his expertise was needed to help someone. Kenny mentally rolled his eyes. _Kai, you're so frustrating! Why do you have to be so vague all the time?_ Using Kai as a protective shield, Kenny cautiously eyed the door.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" he mumbled.

"Of course." Kai smirked. "Don't tell me you're afraid of girls?"

"That's not it!" Kenny retorted defensively, adjusting his glasses, "It just sounds like we're not very welcome. Why are we here, anyway? What's so important that we have to risk our lives just to talk to a bunch of angry girls?"

"_One_ angry girl."

The sound of footsteps approaching the other side of the door caused Kenny to duck behind Kai again.

"Oh, yeah," Kai mocked, "You're _definitely_ not afraid of girls."

Kenny glared up at Kai and was just opening his mouth to tell him to shut up when the door swung open.

A tall girl with long, black hair and dark green eyes greeted them with an apologetic smile. "Hey Kai. Hey Kenny." She winced as something smashed against a wall further back in the apartment. "Sorry about that. She didn't take the news that you were coming very well."

"It's ok." Kai shrugged, shoving Kenny away. "I'm _not_ a shield, wimp."

"Say what you want but it sounds like things are being thrown and I'd rather they hit _you_ than _me_!" Kenny grumbled.

Tess laughed. "Can't argue with _that_ logic."

"Hey, just a minute," Kenny turned to look at Tess, "I've never met you before. How do you know my name? How do you know _either_ of our names?"

Tess shook her head and looked at Kenny with pity. "So brilliant with beyblades, yet so clueless about the world around you." She pointed to a small television in the corner of the room. "It's called television. Te-le-vi-sion," she said slowly and clearly.

Kenny scowled up at her.

"Any true beyblade fan can recognize the teams and team members thanks to television." Tess continued patronizing the small boy.

"I know what television is!" Kenny snapped, "I'm not a child!"

"Then you shouldn't have had to ask." Tess held her hand out for Kenny to shake. "I'm Tess. Luna is down the hall, waiting for Faye to calm down." She looked at Kai with apprehension. "You didn't say anything to him, did you?"

"No." Kai replied coolly.

"Ok," she gave him a faint smile. "Luna obviously trusts you, so I guess I'll have to do the same...for now."

Kai narrowed his eyes.

"No offense." Tess added quickly. She turned towards the hallway, motioning for the two guys to follow her. "Just so you know, we'll probably have to wait a while before we can talk to Faye."

Kenny took a few steps and stopped. "Does this have anything to do with the glowing beyblades?"

Tess and Kai ignored him. Heaving an exasperated sigh, he followed them into the hallway.

Luna sat at the far end, leaning against a wall. Across from her was a closed door. Muffled yells and thumps were coming from the other side of the door; it sounded like someone was screaming into a pillow while punching it and throwing things at the same time. Every now and then, the sound of something breaking added itself to the mix. A blood-red light shone through the crack beneath the door, interrupted by sudden flashes of white light.

Luna sat with her legs drawn to her chest and her arms folded across her knees as she gazed at the door across from her. She looked up as the other three approached, greeting them with a strained smile. "She needs to regain control before we can go in." She looked at Kenny, speaking quietly. "We need your help. The seal has been weakening faster than ever. We'd hoped it would hold out longer...but by the looks of it, we probably have less than a month."

"What seal?" Kenny blinked in confusion, "I don't understand."

"Sit. Get comfortable." Luna gestured at the floor beside her. Tess sat next to her and the guys sat against the opposite wall, near the door. The eerie lights continued to flicker through the crack beneath the door.

The flickers and flashes gradually dimmed over the next half hour or so until the faint glow finally disappeared altogether. Luna and Tess simultaneously sighed with relief; Kai stood up calmly, looking bored with the whole situation. After giving her stiff muscles a quick stretch, Luna reached out and tentatively knocked on the door.

"Mm?" an exhausted voice grunted in response.

"Is it ok for us to come in?" Luna asked.

"I think so…but I'm still not happy with this."

Luna smiled and opened the door slowly. A scene of complete chaos and disarray greeted the group as they entered the room. Everything under the sun seemed to be scattered across the carpet: blankets, pillows, clothes, paper, books…it was a disaster. The room was dimly lit – the lights were off and the curtains were shut tight, though a few rays of sunlight still managed to sneak through. Kai tried flipping the light switch but nothing happened. Upon closer inspection, he noticed some shards of glass lying on the carpet – remnants of a shattered bulb. In the far corner of the room, a thick blanket lay in a messy heap.

Tess and Luna carefully picked their way through the debris to the blanket, followed closely by Kai. Gently lifting the nearest edge of the blanket, Tess exposed Faye's shadowed form sitting beneath it. Luna crouched down and peered at the girl, who was clutching a pillow tightly to her chest. Kai caught a brief glimpse of her face before she buried it in the soft pillow; she had four long, evenly spaced scratches running down her right cheek. Her right eye was blue but her left…it was a vivid gold colour, burning with a fury so intense that even _he_ had never seen its equal, not even in his battle with Brooklyn.

Kenny stood in the doorway, his laptop open in his hands. He had asked Dizzy to do a quick analysis of the room and find out what had caused the eerie light – he had turned the sound off, so he and Dizzy were communicating through typed messages.

_I'm sorry, Chief. I can't seem to locate the exact source of that light you saw earlier. Whatever caused it is being strongly suppressed now so I can't get a clear reading. It's still here, but its presence is being masked by the strange waves of power filling the room. There are so many layers of waves that it's impossible to tell where they're originating from. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll ever be able to pinpoint the source._

_Why not?_

_It looks like the source you're looking for is the only thing keeping the waves going. Once it has been completely suppressed, the waves will probably disappear altogether._

_Then how are we supposed to find it again?_

_Wait until it resurfaces, I guess._

_Great._

_Hey, I'm doing my best here!_

_I know. Sorry, Dizzy._

He closed the laptop with a sigh. _So much for the scientific approach_. Turning his attention back to the group, he noticed that Tess had now completely removed the blanket and tossed it to the side, revealing a girl with long brown hair sitting on the floor. Her knees were drawn up and her face was buried in a pillow clutched to her chest.

"So you waited after all, huh?" the girl mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Yes, they did." Luna replied. "Come on, can't you at least talk to them properly? They're here to help you, after all." She reached out, trying to pull the pillow away from her friend's face.

Faye gripped the pillow even tighter. "I don't want them to see my face right now. They'll just have to deal with talking to a pillow for a while."

Kai nodded, still thinking about that furious, golden eye. "It's alright," he assured Luna.

Kenny picked up his laptop and moved to sit in front of Faye. "Okay, let's start with the question that's been bothering me the most. Do you know why so many beyblades have been glowing without an explanation?"

Faye sat in silence for a few moments. "What do you mean, 'so many'? I thought it was only affecting my friends and I…"

"It appears to have a much wider influence." said Kai.

Faye looked at him cautiously. "How much has Luna told you?"

Kai gave a brief explanation involving a magical seal of some sort, a destructive monster, and something about a vessel in which the monster was trapped. The details were sketchy at best. Faye listened quietly, leaning into the comforting softness of her pillow. Kenny had his fingers poised above his keyboard, ready to take notes. When Kai had finished speaking, Faye uttered a short, bitter-sounding laugh; she raised her head from the pillow, finally making eye-contact. Kai made a mental-note that both of her eyes were both blue now – there wasn't a trace of yellow in them.

Faye gazed at the small group in front of her without really seeing them. Her eyes seemed void of emotion and her shoulders slumped as she stared into space. Kenny felt a sympathetic pang in his heart as he looked at her, wondering what could possibly have happened to make a person look so defeated. The cuts on her cheek had begun to heal, though their contact with the pillow fabric had resulted in a few bloody smears.

"So in other words…you don't know anything." Faye smirked half-heartedly. "But why should I bother telling you? You probably just see me as some kind of experiment subject or something. You don't really care. I'm just some kind of guinea pig to you. Just like then."

"Look, you selfish brat," Kai glared, "We're here for _your_ benefit. Your friends are worried about you and were just trying to find you some help, so here we are."

Faye opened her mouth to argue but Kai cut her off.

"You said you want to deal with this on your own and you treat your friends like this problem of yours is none of their business, but I think that's just an excuse for you to forget about it. You don't talk about it so it doesn't exist, right? Well, that's just not true. Ignoring a problem doesn't make it disappear. It will haunt you relentlessly until you accept it as a fact of life and find a way to solve it."

Faye averted her eyes, staring at the floor.

"You need to stop being so selfish about this," Kai continued, "You're only hurting your friends when you shut them out like this. It's not worth it, trust me." His voice softened as his argument became more personal. "Don't suffer alone when you don't have to. You'll only torture yourself that way."

Faye brooded in silence for a few moments.

"It's not fair," she whispered shakily, tightening her grip around her legs. She took a deep, steadying breath and looked directly into Kenny's eyes. "You'll really help me? You won't back out?"

"I don't leave puzzles unsolved."

Faye's eyes narrowed slightly. "Alright. Just don't forget that this puzzle involves human beings, not objects. Anyway, I guess I'll have to start from the beginning to make you truly understand my..._problem_."


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** This chapter is told entirely from Faye's POV. I thought about how I would write the flashback for a while and decided that writing it according to the character's experiences would be more effective than just narrating the events from an outside POV. Plus, it was way less annoying than doing the whole "he said she said" thing, which is what would have happened if I'd kept the POV the same as the previous chapters. ^^' lol. I'll only be using the 1st person POV for _this_ chapter, though.

Oh, and I apologize in advance if any details start contradicting each other from this point on. I'm doing my best to keep everything straight :) but I may still slip up here and there. Please be patient with me!

PS - This is the longest chapter I've ever written 0_0 yay!!

**The Beast Within**

_**Chapter 5**_

My family and I lived in a small village, isolated from many of the more modern influences of today. Natural barriers like mountains, forests, and rivers helped our village to maintain its isolation. Ours was a small community in which everyone knew – or was at least acquainted with – everyone else. In my earliest memories, I had many friends.

My father worked very hard every day – he spent most of his time in his study, hunched over his desk as he relentlessly scribbled out notes and formulae. No one in the village ever told me or my brothers what _exactly_ our father's job was, but we could sense that it was something important. Something no one else was able to do. Every villager seemed to have a lot of respect for father...but even so...mother never seemed to stop worrying. We – my brothers and I – never understood why she behaved that way. We thought it was strange and confusing for her to worry about everything and nothing all at once. I remember how my older brother, Jarrett, used to sit beneath the huge tree in our backyard and think of ways to make our mother smile, however brief that smile might be.

It's not that mother didn't smile. She did...but it was a mask. She tried to hide her worries by smiling, but we could tell. Her _true_ smile made us feel warm inside while her _usual_ smile made us feel empty. I doubt she ever realized it, though.

As the years passed and we grew older, Jarrett changed. He began to think about different, darker things. He spoke to me and my younger brother, Caelum, less and less often as time went by. There were times when we felt like we didn't matter to him anymore...but at other times, we pitied him. We wondered what could possibly be weighing his thoughts down so much that he would treat us like strangers. Something was wrong, we were certain of that, but we had no idea what that something could be.

Caelum and I had always looked up to Jarrett in the past – he was older than us, so we naturally idolized him. He had always been kind, understanding, and strong of heart; we could go to him with any problem or worry and he would offer advice or comfort without hesitation. His eyes had always had a playful gleam in them, and he had been an easygoing and trusting person. Now, though...his eyes were dull and he no longer seemed to trust anyone. My younger brother and I had both noticed the change – how could we not? – but neither of us felt comfortable asking him about it.

One morning, when I was sitting beside Jarrett under the tree, he mumbled something so softly that I almost missed it entirely.

"What are they hiding from us?"

I felt as though my breath had caught in my chest. Of all the things for him to say, he had voiced an echo of my _own_ more recent thoughts.

"Who?" I asked, nervously fidgeting with the hem of my shirt.

"Everyone," he breathed, his brow furrowed in frustration. His expression changed to one of concern as he turned to face me. "Haven't you noticed how strangely everyone acts around us? Around our family?"

I remained silent. Of course I'd noticed! It was impossible not to. When we were little, nothing had seemed out of the ordinary at all...but as we grew older, the change became evident all around us. The other children began avoiding us, their parents stopped making eye contact – our friends were abandoning us, one by one.

"Is this what you're always brooding over?" I asked quietly.

"Yes...among other things."

"What other things?"

"The real purpose of father's job, why it's treated with so much secrecy, what causes mother to worry so much, why she refuses to discuss her worries..." he smiled sadly. "I've been thinking about a lot of things. I've been asking myself questions I'm unable to answer. The only thing I'm sure of right now is that father's job and everyone's strange behaviour are connected somehow."

"But Jarrett," I protested, "Mother and father would tell us if something was _really_ wrong. Don't you trust them?"

Jarrett stood with a sigh. "I don't know who to trust anymore, aside from you and Caelum. The villagers completely shun me now and our parents refuse to give an explanation. You and Caelum are still accepted, but trust me – the second you do something different, something..._unique_...they'll shut you out, too."

"No!" I protested, trying so hard to defend the people I'd known all my life; trying to defend them even against my _own_ thoughts. "They're our friends! Why would they do something like that?" But in my heart, I knew he was right. Speaking with Jarrett had only reinforced my growing doubts about the villagers.

I threw my arms around my brother and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back more gently, but I could tell his mind was elsewhere. It was heartbreaking. No matter how closely I held him, he was as unreachable as ever.

Several months passed before Jarrett shared his thoughts with me again. He shook me awake in the middle of the night and motioned for me to follow him quietly. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, trying to wake up properly. We crept out of my room and down the hallway, toward the stairs. I glanced at Caelum's room as we passed it; his soft snores were audible through the door. I longed to return to my _own_ room and go back to sleep, but Jarrett had my hand in a firm grip. Grudgingly, I followed him downstairs.

"Jarrett," I yawned, still half asleep. "Where are we going? It's the middle of the night."

He held a finger up to his lips, signalling for silence. "We can't let them hear us," he whispered, "They don't know we're following. You know what day it is, right?"

I stared at him, not understanding the point of the question.

He sighed and pointed at the clock on the wall. There was just enough moonlight coming through the window for me to read it – 12:01am.

"Oh. So it's technically my birthday...what difference does that make?" It was too early for these mind games.

"It makes a big difference," he replied quietly as he slipped into his shoes, "Hurry up."

I shoved my shoes on, grabbed a light hoodie, and followed my brother outside. I was immediately glad I'd remembered my hoodie – it was a warm time of year, but a chilly breeze was blowing in from the mountains and the sun hadn't risen yet. Looking up, I noticed several pinpricks of light. They were disappearing, single file, into the distant forest. Jarrett moved swiftly and silently toward the lights, keeping to the shadows. I trailed after him, doing my best to keep up without making too much noise.

As we reached the edge of the forest, I reached out and gripped my brother's hand. It was extremely dark under the cover of the trees and I didn't want to risk being separated from him. The small lights continued their course through the dense foliage, so we did the same. Eventually, I noticed that the lights ahead of us were decreasing in number, as if they were suddenly vanishing without explanation. Jarrett slowed to a stop and waited for the last of the lights to disappear. Once they were gone, he led me forward slowly and we approached the spot where the lights had been only moments before. There seemed to be a thick wall of leaves and branches there. I looked at it with intense curiosity; faint noises were emanating from the other side but I could see no way to reach the source of the sounds.

Jarrett gave my hand a brief squeeze to get my attention; he lay down on his stomach, facing the mysterious barrier. I mimicked him and waited for his next move. He crawled forward and I accidentally let out a gasp as his head disappeared through the wall. I followed quickly, afraid of being left behind, and was amazed to find myself crawling through a thin, cleverly woven curtain of leaves. Beyond the curtain was a small tunnel. The ceiling was a little over a foot high; it was just barely wide enough for the two of us to crawl side by side. Jarrett and I stopped as we reached a second curtain, identical to the one at the entrance. The voices had grown louder as we'd passed through the tunnel, and through the small gaps in the curtain, we were now able to see the source of the lights we had been following – candles. There was a crowd of people standing in a clearing, each of them holding a candle.

"What's going on?" I whispered, tapping Jarrett's arm lightly.

"That's what I'm trying to find out," he whispered back, keeping his eyes locked on the scene in front of us.

"Then what was the point of dragging me with you?" I grumbled under my breath. "I could have stayed in bed."

He seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. "I need you here. I have a theory to test."

I sighed, frustrated by his elusive answers, and turned my attention back to the scene beyond the veil of leaves. My eyes widened as I took a closer look – I was sure that almost every adult in the village was there. They had moved to stand in a large circle and were carefully placing their candles in holders at their feet. It looked to me like the holders were immovable, so the circular formation had to have been something planned in advance. The candles' flickering lights were spaced evenly, and there seemed to be some sort of framework running between them. I couldn't make out the pattern, though.

The middle of the circle was void of people – everyone was standing outside the ring of light, behind their candles. The only thing inside the circle was a large statue; a monument or something. I still don't know for sure. It looked like some kind of animal.

I stared at it for the longest time. The flickering light illuminating it combined with the soft chant the adults had begun to murmur had a hypnotizing effect on me. Everything felt so ethereal...I'm not sure how much time passed before Jarrett suddenly grabbed my wrist, startling me out of my stupor.

"It's starting," he hissed.

My mouth fell open as the framework burst into flames, revealing the pattern that had puzzled me before. Even though I was looking at the shape from an awkward angle, I recognized it immediately. I had seen it every day of my life! The same symbol was etched on the charm I had been given as a small child; I think I was around four years old at the time.

The chanting increased in volume and tempo. The meaning was lost on me – it was spoken in a language I'd never heard before. The symbol on the ground blazed furiously; maybe it was just my imagination but I swear it seemed to grow brighter. Turning my head slightly to look at Jarrett, I noticed he was clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. His gaze, I was surprised to see, was focused _only_ on the statue; he didn't even seem to notice the crowd or the symbol.

Then it happened.

The statue burst into raging flames. I gasped in amazement, unable to tear my eyes away from the spectacle. It had a morbid sort of beauty to it. I had never seen such a strange animal before; its body was fairly skeletal – its ribs were visible through the skin – but it somehow retained a sense of effortless grace. The shape of its head and body were similar to those of a deer, it had a long, flowing tail and mane like a horse, and two long, sharp, slightly angled horns protruded from its brow, kind of like a gazelle. I watched with wonder as the flames danced across the statue, emphasizing its morbid beauty.

"What _is_ that?" I whispered.

"I don't know but I don't trust it. I think _it_ is causing the villager's strange behaviour."

"........"

I wasn't even paying attention to him anymore. I could hear his voice, but his words were jumbling and slurring together in my mind, blending until the sounds were little more than a background hum. I didn't care. It didn't matter. Only one thing mattered to me at that moment – the statue's eyes. Black, empty eyes. I dimly remember noticing a glowing shape on the statue's forehead, slightly covered by a wisp of mane.

The last thing I remember is a blinding flash of light rushing towards me...then everything went dark.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

When I regained consciousness, I was back in my room, safe in bed. I rubbed my eyes and sat up slowly, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.

"Morning," an exhausted voice greeted me from across the room.

Looking up, I saw Jarrett sitting on the floor, leaning against the far wall; he had a blanket wrapped loosely around his shoulders. I gave my eyes another quick rub – for some reason, they felt extremely dry, itchy, and sore that morning. Come to think of it, they had been sore and itchy on my birthday for several years in a row.

"Morning," I replied, blinking my eyes rapidly in an effort to relieve the irritation; the rubbing had not been having much effect. "Oh my god, what the hell?" I grumbled under my breath.

"What?"

I tried rubbing again. "My stupid eyes won't stop itching! They feel really dry..." I began alternating between blinking and rubbing, hoping for some relief. "They've felt this way on my birthday every year since I was little."

"Huh. Makes sense," Jarrett murmured.

"What does?"

He didn't answer.

I rolled my eyes at his stubborn silence. "Does it have something to do with that...that _thing_?"

"...Yes," he said after a moment of hesitation, "I'm _sure_ of it. I'm just not sure _what_ it has to do with it. Not yet. It seems to affect you differently than it affects me."

I ran his words over in my mind a few times, trying to understand. "Jarrett...what did it do to me?"

"It's hard to describe...were you really unconscious through the whole thing?" his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yes. Stop stalling."

"Ok, sorry," he ran his fingers through his hair, one of his nervous habits. "I guess I'm just...scared. I don't trust mom _or_ dad, the villagers have shut me out – you and Caelum are the only ones I can turn to. Unfortunately, neither of you can help me because you don't know anything more about what's happening than I do. Plus, as the oldest, I have to be strong for all three of us. I don't know," he sighed, letting his hand fall to the floor. "It's just really hard sometimes."

I stood went to sit beside him. Wrapping my arm around his shoulders, I gave him a quick one-armed hug. "It's ok, Jarrett. You'll always have us here to support you."

He gave me a brief smile in return.

"So this..." I waved my hand in a circular motion, trying to think of the right word. "This _condition_. Does it affect Caelum, too?"

"Yes."

I sighed. "Damn. I was hoping he wouldn't have to get involved. Does it affect him the same way it affects me...or you?"

"No."

A sudden knock on my door startled us.

"How is she feeling, Jarrett? Has her fever gotten any better?" My mother's worried voice was muffled a bit by the door between us.

"I think she's feeling alright now," Jarrett answered, shoving me towards my bed. I took the hint and sat on the edge. "She just woke up."

My mother opened the door and approached me, laying the back of her hand against my forehead. "No fever, thank goodness!" she smiled with relief. "It would be awful if you got sick on your birthday."

"I feel fine," I reassured her, smiling back, "My eyes are just really itchy and sore this morning. It's kind of annoying." I rubbed them again, gauging her reaction from the corner of my eye.

She hesitated for about a _fraction_ of a second before looking at me with sympathy. "Hmm. Maybe it's an allergic reaction to something in the air."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's probably it."

"Well," she turned to leave, smiling again, "I have breakfast ready downstairs. Come down when you think you feel well enough."

"Ok."

I kept still while she closed the door. When the sound of her footsteps had faded away, I looked at Jarrett. "She knows something."

"Definitely."

"I hate being lied to," I sighed, determined not to feel sorry for myself.

"Me too."

"Ok, so you seem to know a lot about each of our symptoms. I'm guessing that means you've seen them all by now. Fill me in." I blinked my eyes and gave them another brief rub. On the bright side, the intensity of the itch seemed to be subsiding – gradually.

"Well, like I said before, that _thing_ affects each of us differently. I was enveloped in darkness, like some kind of pitch black cloud had surrounded me or something. I was scared at first, but the darkness receded as quickly as it appeared. It just...absorbed through my skin. After I'd absorbed the darkness, I felt an incredible surge of power coursing through my body. I don't know what happened...it was really weird."

"Ok..." I had a feeling he wasn't telling me the whole story. "So what happened to me?"

"A beam of blinding white light rushed towards you and seemed to enter your heart – that's where most of the light was absorbed, anyway. After that, you collapsed and your eyes went crazy."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"Well, your eyes started..._glowing_. They were incredibly bright. I was afraid they would attract that mob's attention so I carried you home. Your eyes were acting so weird. They stayed open all night – you didn't even blink! And the whole time, the glow from your eyes kept changing colour. They went through the whole colour spectrum – multiple times – from what I could see."

_Huh,_ I thought to myself, _that explains why my eyes are so dry and sore._ Going several hours without blinking was probably the root of the irritation, but I was sure that the eerie light hadn't helped much either.

"And Caelum?"

"His reaction seems to be the least extreme so far," Jarrett replied, "I checked him on _his_ birthday and all I noticed was that his hair turned black and his skin glowed softly for a few minutes. After that, his body went back to normal. I don't think he felt anything strange; he didn't even wake up. Hopefully that means he's not being affected too seriously."

"Good," I murmured. "So how do we find out what these reactions mean?"

"I have an idea of where to start." Jarrett smiled. "I'm glad I'll have some help from now on. The past few years have been pretty lonely."

"You would have had help sooner if you weren't so stubborn about handling problems on your own." I grinned, giving him a hug.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Father's study – that was the target. We were sure that everything we needed to know could be found in there; the problem was _getting_ in there. Father spent all day working in his study and mother was always nearby, either cleaning or looking for something or just pacing, with a worried expression on her face. There was no way we could investigate the study without being caught. We were forced to bide our time.

Finally, an opportunity arrived; for once, both of our parents were out of the house at the same time. Mother had somehow managed to convince father to help her with the grocery shopping.

"Hurry up," Jarrett urged as he opened the door to the study. "It's now or never."

"Never? That's a bit extreme, isn't it?" I teased, trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach.

Jarrett rolled his eyes. "Just try some of the stuff on his desk. I'll check through the drawers. Make sure to put everything back the way you found it, though. You know how organized father is; he'll notice if anything gets shuffled around."

I nodded and began sifting through the various papers on the desk. I couldn't understand a word of the notes – they were all written in a language I'd never seen before. However, there _was_ something in those notes that caught my attention: the symbol. It appeared several times throughout the pages of notes I held in my hands.

"Jarrett," I muttered, "I think I've found a link."

He closed the drawer he'd been looking through and glanced over my shoulder at the notes. I handed them to him, hoping he could make sense of them.

"I can't understand a word of these notes, but the symbol from that night keeps reappearing throughout the pages. It _must_ be a link."

He nodded slowly, furrowing his brow as he examined the bizarre writing. "This seems to be written in some form of short-hand," he explained after a few minutes.

"What's that?"

"Short-hand is a type of writing that allows you to write almost as fast as you can speak. It uses dots and dashes and stuff in place of letters. "

"I've never heard of it before. How did you find out about it?"

He shrugged. "I saw a book about it in the library a long time ago. I was curious so I flipped through the introduction. It didn't sound very interesting at the time so I just put it back on the shelf."

"Oh."

"Hang on a second – I'll be right back." Jarrett set the pages on the desk and hurried out of the study, only to return a few moments later holding a pencil and notebook. "I'll copy out as many pages as I can and then borrow the library book to translate it."

"But it'll take you hours just to copy out _these_ pages," I gestured toward the papers he had set down. "Who knows how many _other_ pages of notes father has made?"

"I know. It's completely overwhelming but it has to be done if we're ever going to understand what's happening." He was already copying out the first page.

I bit my lip as another worry hit me. "Father is the only person I know of who uses this form of writing, and he only seems to use it for his notes. Won't it look suspicious if _you_ suddenly want to learn it, too?"

"Probably, but I'll deal with that problem later. If I only borrow the book for a few days, suspicion should be kept at a minimum; if anyone asks about it, I can just tell them I was curious and then complain about how boring and useless the book is."

His words offered me _some_ comfort, but a part of me knew that our time together was nearing an end.


	7. Chapter 6

**The Beast Within**

_**Chapter 6**_

Faye paused, fidgeting with the edge of her pillow. She gazed blankly at the floor in silence for a few minutes, trying Kai's patience.

"And?" he asked bluntly, "What happened after that?"

"Kai..." Tess warned, "Don't push it..."

"We won't be able to help her if she won't tell us the whole story," he replied in a clipped tone. "She's acting like a self-absorbed brat."

"Bite me," Faye snapped, not looking up.

Kai smirked and crouched down to look Faye in the eyes. "You're the stubborn type, aren't you? I like that."

Faye shot him a venomous glare.

"But," he continued, ignoring her hostility, "From what I can see, you only have two options. Either tell us the rest of the story so we can help you...or keep dealing with it on your own. I can see the second option has been working great for you so far," he added sarcastically. He stared her down until she grudgingly lowered her eyes, giving in to his intimidating gaze.

"Jerk," she mumbled.

"So...what _did_ happen next?" Kenny asked.

"...they came for him. They tried to take him away." She managed to keep her voice steady but her hand shook slightly, betraying her emotions. "One night, a few weeks after Jarrett began translating the notes, I heard loud noises coming from downstairs; it sounded like fighting. When I went to look..." she swallowed, "_They_ were there. I don't know who they were – their faces were masked and they were dressed all in black."

"What were they doing?"

"They were holding Jarrett – trying to restrain him – but he was struggling so fiercely that they couldn't get a proper grip on him. They were trying to take him away," she repeated, a single tear trailing down her cheek. She brushed it away quickly. "Jarrett saw me standing at the top of the stairs and told me to run – to get my charm and run. His attackers looked up at me as I stood frozen in place. The distraction lasted just long enough for Jarrett to pull free and race outside to freedom. The attackers' angry cries startled me out of my daze; I hurried to my room to retrieve my charm and then climbed through my bedroom window onto the roof." A second tear escaped.

"Caelum saw me as I passed by his window. He'd heard the angry voices coming from downstairs and couldn't understand what was happening. He looked like he was about to cry and asked where I was going...why I was leaving...and all I could tell him was how sorry I was; that I didn't understand what had happened either but it didn't matter anymore because Jarrett and I were no longer welcome in the village. Before I left him, I made him make me a promise. 'Promise me you'll stay safe,' I said, 'Stay safe and find Jarrett when the time comes...he'll know what to do.' Caelum made the promise without even a moment's hesitation. He understood the importance of the promise even though he didn't understand the circumstances. 'But what about you?' Caelum asked, 'Where will you go? Are you going with him?' I looked at him sadly. 'I don't know where I'll go, Caelum...but I can't go with Jarrett.' He looked so lonely as he watched me disappear into the night."

Faye sighed. "I haven't seen either of my brothers since that night. If I had followed Jarrett, anyone following me would have been led straight to him. I couldn't follow him...he didn't need me weighing him down." She leaned her cheek against the pillow and stared into space, her eyes sad and empty.

"So I was alone. I was alone for a long, long time before Luna and Tess found me. They actually found me when I was in the middle of an attack, like the one I had when you got here," she explained in a detached voice, "It took me a while to start trusting them...but even after they gained my trust, I still didn't tell them very much because I knew it wasn't in their power to help me."

Kenny's furious typing quieted as Faye finished her story. "Umm...if you don't mind my asking...what was so important about your charm? Why was it so necessary to take it with you?"

Faye gazed at him in silence for a while, making him shift uncomfortably and look away.

"The seal," she finally replied, "It's because of the seal."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pure white beyblade. Inscribed on it, in place of where a bitbeast's picture would normally be, was a seven-pointed star. "I'm not sure how it works, exactly..." she pointed to the star, "But being in the presence of this seal seems to help suppress the creature's powers and allows me to keep control. There were seals like this _everywhere_ in my house...and a massive one was surrounding the statue in that clearing. That's why I recognized the shape when it lit up in flames. And I'm pretty sure the glowing shape on the statue's forehead was a seal like this as well."

"Oh," said Kenny, "So...are you the only one who had a beyblade like this?"

"No," Faye replied quietly, "All three of us had one. We're all vessels, after all. Precautions had to be taken."

Kai nodded. "So how does this vessel situation work?"

"I don't know all the details, but apparently the creature's power or something was divided between the three of us. Jarrett probably knows more about it than I do. _He_ was translating the notes, not _me_. What I _do_ know is that the power inside me reacts strongly to my emotions. Anger and fear are the most dangerous, because the creature gains the most strength from them and can almost completely possess me. The seal has been growing steadily weaker, though. Eventually the creature _will_ be able to take complete control."

"How does all of this connect with the glowing beyblades?" Kenny asked.

"I've talked to Luna and Tess about that before. We think the bitbeasts are responding to the power of the creature. The beyblades only glow when the creature latches onto one of my emotions and channels its power through it...and only if it's a _strong_ emotion. You know...happiness, fear, anger, sorrow...those kinds of emotions. It makes my eyes glow, too. The stronger the emotion is, the brighter and more intense the light becomes."

Kenny quickly made a note of that on his laptop. "What colour did you say the beyblades have been glowing lately, Kai?"

"Blue."

He and Kenny looked at Faye, whose cheeks were beginning to flush a pale pink colour. Her previously blank and detached expression turned to one of shy embarrassment.

"Happiness," she explained softly, her lips twitching into a small smile. Tess and Luna grinned at each other knowingly.

"Anyway," Faye continued, getting to her feet, "I don't really know anything more than that. You'd have to talk to Jarrett to be able to make sense of it all...and I have no idea where he is or how to find him. One thing seems pretty clear, though – if our seals break, the creature will be set loose. Judging by the villagers' fear of it and their decisions regarding my brothers and I, that's something we _can't_ let happen. I just wish I knew more about what I'm fighting against."

"What _we're_ fighting against," Luna corrected, smirking at her friend. Tess nodded in agreement.

Faye smiled. "Ok...what _we're_ fighting against."

Kenny closed his laptop and stood. "Do you mind if I discuss this with the rest of the team?"

Faye looked between Kai and Kenny, unsure.

"At the very least, we'd have more people to look for your brothers," Kenny persisted. "You and your friends are more than welcome to come with me to make sure I explain everything properly."

"Well..." Faye shuffled her feet, looking reluctant to agree. "I guess it _would_ help to have a larger search party...but what if they think I'm some kind of freak or something?" She looked at Tess and Luna in desperation.

"They won't," Kai answered in his _don't-even-__**start**__-arguing-with-me_ tone. "They're not those kind of people."

"And they'd never betray a friend," Kenny added.

Faye smirked at Kenny's words. "Are you sure you want to be friends with someone like me? I'll just cause problems for you," she warned.

"Shut up," Kai glared at her sternly, "You're stuck with us so get used to it. And don't worry," he smirked, "Tyson won't bite."

Faye shot him a death-glare while Tess and Luna giggled.

"Alright, let's go." Kai led the way out of the room.

"What?!" The colour drained from Faye's cheeks. "We're going now?!"

"Of course. The sooner they know, the better."

The group left the apartment together with Faye trailing at the back, grumbling insults under her breath.

"Kai," Kenny asked quietly, "What was that comment about Tyson supposed to mean?"

Kai ignored him.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Soon enough, everyone was crowded in Tyson's living room. His grandpa was out, so thankfully they had some privacy. Rei, Tyson, and Max gave Kai and Kenny questioning looks, occasionally glancing past them at the three girls.

"So what's up, Chief?" Tyson asked.

"Yeah," said Max, "What's going on, guys?"

"Who are those girls?" Rei asked, his eyes straying towards the trio. He recognized one of them...the black-haired one who'd made that whistle noise at him that day in the park. _Why's she here?_

Kenny glanced at Faye before retelling her story. Her face was white with fear and she refused to make eye-contact with anyone. Taking a deep breath, Kenny began the story. He was occasionally interrupted as Luna, Tess and Kai added parts here and there, and his other teammates bombarded him with questions at times, but eventually the story drew to a close. Faye had remained silent the entire time, resting her chin on her knees while concentrating on miraculously becoming invisible.

"Wow," said Max after a long silence. "That's just...wow."

"So we've got to find her older brother first, right?" Rei asked.

"Preferably," replied Kai. "He _does_ know the most about what's going on."

Tyson quietly stared at Faye. She tried to ignore it, but couldn't stop herself from glancing back at him now and then, wishing he would look somewhere else. She barely registered the conversation going on around her while everyone discussed strategies for locating her brothers; all she could focus on was how uncomfortable she felt being stared at. It made her feel like she was on display in a zoo or circus or something. She could feel her cheeks growing warmer by the second as she blushed with...embarrassment? Shame? Even _she_ couldn't completely identify the feeling.

When a plan was finally decided on, Faye heaved a sigh of relief and allowed herself to relax a bit. The horrible ordeal was almost over and she couldn't wait to go back to the familiar comfort of her apartment, safe from the stares and whispers of the others.

"We'll need descriptions of what your brothers look like," Max pointed out, glancing at Faye. "I know you haven't seen them in years, but what do you remember about them?"

Faye thought for a moment, sifting through her memories. "Well...Jarrett always had the brightest icy-blue eyes. He's four years older than me so he'd be twenty-two by now...and he had blond hair. He's probably a lot taller than me, too. He was always tall," she smiled to herself. "Caelum had green eyes and dark brown hair. His skin was always pale, too, no matter how much time he spent in the sun. He's three years younger than me so he'd be fifteen now." She could hear Kenny typing rapidly on his laptop, jotting down every detail.

The large group began to disperse. Max and Rei left first, followed by Kai and Kenny. They had decided that splitting up would be the most efficient course of action, as opposed to getting anyone else involved. They would each keep watch over a different area of the city and hopefully have some success soon enough.

Faye stood up and was about to follow Tess and Luna outside when Tyson rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, looking concerned.

Tess and Luna waited for Faye by the door. She took a deep breath before giving Tyson a small nod. "I'll be out in a sec," she told her friends. They gave her a nod of understanding and left.

"We'll just wait for you outside," Tess called as she closed the door.

The silence that followed was painfully awkward. Faye waited for Tyson to say something..._anything_. He was just _standing_ there. The silence was deafening –

She mentally kicked herself for thinking in clichés.

"So...uh..." Tyson nervously shoved his hands into his pockets, avoiding eye-contact. "What happens if the seal breaks?"

Faye blinked, confused by the question. "They told you already. The creature will be set loose...or, at least, _my_ portion of the creature."

Tyson shook his head, adding to Faye's confusion. "No," he said, raising his eyes to meet hers, "I meant what happens to _you_?"

She held his gaze, losing herself in the intense sincerity of his eyes. She felt an irresistible urge to let her guard down and be completely honest with him. He knew her secret now. There was really no point in hiding things from him anymore.

"I...I don't know," she answered with a sad smile, "And it scares me."

A small gasp escaped her lips as Tyson's arms suddenly snaked around her waist, pulling her into a warm embrace. "You don't have to be scared anymore," he whispered reassuringly. "I'm here. The guys are here. Your friends are here. We're all looking out for you now."

Faye could feel the tension in her muscles slowly melting away with his soothing words. She wrapped her arms around him, tentatively hugging him back. His arms tightened their hold slightly in response. She smiled with a soft sigh, feeling safer than she had in years.

"Thank you, Tyson."

As they pulled away from each other, Faye noticed Tyson's eyes widen. A strange expression passed across his features as he looked at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her guard up once again.

He blinked, looking amazed.

"Seriously, _what_?" Faye asked, more forcefully this time.

"Your eyes. They were glowing a second ago. Just faintly, but still..." he pushed his bangs out of his face, still staring at her in amazement.

Faye felt tension creeping back into her limbs. This was the part where most people screamed, ran, or chased her away. Nobody liked a freak. Tess and Luna had been the only exceptions.

"That surprises you?" she asked in a hostile tone. "The others already explained that the creature's power makes the beyblades and my eyes glow. Weren't you listening?" She immediately regretted snapping at him, but there was no taking it back now.

Tyson nodded slowly, unable to remove his amazed expression. "Yeah, I heard them. I guess I just never expected it to be so..."

"Weird? Creepy? Unnatural?" Her heart sank further and further with every word.

She was completely thrown off by the sheepish grin he answered her with. "Pretty."

"...you're joking."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"But you _must_ be!"

"Nope."

Faye nervously played with her hair.

"...you really think it's...it's..."

"Pretty?"

"...yeah." A blush quickly blossomed across her cheeks.

"Of course!" He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "You know, I really like you," he grinned shamelessly.

Faye smiled back, in spite of herself.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Wow, look at you!" Luna exclaimed when Faye came out of the house.

"Yeah," Tess agreed, "You haven't looked this happy in...well...actually, I don't think I've _ever_ seen you look this happy!"

"Look at that glow!" Luna beamed, "That's the brightest blue I've seen yet!"

"Aw, come on guys! Quit it!" Faye blushed, smiling.

"So what happened?" Tess asked, barely able to contain her excitement.

"...let's talk about it over coffee," Faye laughed, feeling ten tons lighter in the angst department.

"YES!!" Tess cheered, pumping a fist in the air, "Now you're speaking my language!"

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The three girls sat around a small table in the back corner of a coffee shop. Soft, soothing music played from a speaker somewhere above them, and the faint smell of cinnamon permeated the air. It was having a very relaxing effect on the trio after their hectic day. That's the magic of cinnamon for you.

Tess took a big gulp of her coffee – espresso, of course – before speaking. "So, tell us what happened in there!"

"Yeah," Luna nodded, sipping her hot chocolate, "Come on, we're sick of waiting! You know we suck at being patient about stuff like this!"

"Well," Faye began slowly, playing the memory back in her mind, "He was worried about what will happen to me if the seal breaks."

"Awww..." Tess and Luna sighed together.

"And I told him that I didn't _know_ what would happen...and that I was scared. And then he hugged me and comforted me." She blushed.

"Awwwwww!"

"And then he noticed my eyes glowing."

Luna gasped and Tess' eyes widened. "What did he do then?" they asked.

"He said it was..." She paused, replaying the wonderful moment in her head.

"What? It was what?"

"He said it was...pretty."

"AWWWWWW!!"

"And then he kissed me on the cheek."

"He did _what?!_"

"And he said he really likes me," she grinned, her heart racing.

"Eeeeeeeeeeee!!!" Luna squealed, "I really _am_ the best matchmaker ever!!"

Tess laughed, leaning over the table to hug Faye. "That's so cute!"

"Yeah...hey, you know what we should do after this?" Faye chirped.

"What?"

"Go home for ice cream."


End file.
